Herman E. Talmadge (1913- ), Georgia Governor (1947-1955) and U.S. Senator (1956-1980), born near McRae, Georgia.
Herman E. Talmadge (1913- ), Georgia Governor (1947-1955) and United States Senator (1956-1980) born near McRae, Georgia. T. Rogers Wade served as administrative assistant, fund raiser, and chairman of the 1980 U.S. senatorial campaign for Senator Talmadge.
Politician; U.S. Senator.
Herman E. Talmadge (1913- ), Georgia Governor (1947-1955) and United States Senator (1956-1980), born near McRae, Georgia.
Herman Talmadge (1913- ), Georgia Governor (1948-1955) and U.S. Senator (1957-1981).
Herman Eugene Talmadge (1913- ), Georgia Governor (1949-1955) and U.S. Senator (1957-1981).
Born on August 9, 1913, on a farm near McRae, Georgia, to Eugene and Mattie Talmadge, Herman attended public schools until his senior year when his family moved to Atlanta. In the fall of 1931, he entered the University of Georgia. By 1936, he had received his law degree and joined his father's law practice. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Talmadge returned to his home in Lovejoy. While continuing to practice law and to farm, Talmadge took over publishing his father's weekly newspaper, The Statesman, and started a ham-curing business. Talmadge's first involvement in politics was as his father's campaign manager in 1946. Running for an unprecedented fourth term as governor of Georgia, Eugene Talmadge was elected in November 1946, but was in failing health. As a precaution, a small group of Talmadge supporters started a write-in campaign for Herman Talmadge during the general election. When the elder Talmadge died in December 1946, before being sworn in as governor, the Georgia General Assembly elected his son governor by a vote of 161 to 87. But outgoing Governor Ellis Arnall refused to surrender his office unless it was to elected-Lieutenant Governor Melvin E. Thompson. After a period of uncertainty, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional portion under which the General Assembly had elected Herman Talmadge did not apply. The court declared M. E. Thompson acting governor until a special election could be held. In September 1948, Talmadge was elected governor and re-elected in 1950, serving until January 1955. As governor, Herman Talmadge concentrated on improving educational opportunities for children of all races by establishing youth centers, increasing construction of rural roads, and building additional hospitals and health care centers. When Senator Walter George officially announced his decision not to run for United States Senate, Talmadge started campaigning to take his place. Once again he was opposed by M. E. Thompson, but defeated him in the Democratic primary. With no Republican opposition in the general election in November 1956, Talmadge was elected United States senator. Serving twenty-four years in the United States Senate, Talmadge ranked fifth in seniority among Senate Democrats and seventh overall by the time he left office. Herman Talmadge passed away on March 21, 2002. He is survived by his one son, grandchildren, and wife Linda.